Kem Khoai Mon (Taro Ice Cream), Sweetened with Monk Fruit
Sweets and drinksIce CreamVietnamAbout 60 minutes of preparation, plus freezing time
Taro ice cream comes out a natural pale purple with no coloring at all. It is smooth, nutty with taro and not overly sweet. Texture is the challenge, since any fiber left in the taro leaves the ice cream grainy.
Steamed taro has to be pushed through a sieve to catch every fiber, and that single step decides how smooth the whole tub turns out. The custard is heated only until steaming, never to a boil. The ice cream then gets stirred every 30 to 45 minutes.
This batch weighs about 1.6kg, at roughly 166 calories per 100g.
Method
Peel 300g purple taro, wash it, cut it into cubes and soak them in lightly salted water for 15 minutes to draw out the sap, then rinse and drain.
Steam the taro until tender and push it through a sieve until smooth and free of fiber.
Beat 3 chicken eggs until light, add 30ml cooking wine and beat another 30 seconds to take away any eggy smell.
Put 500ml unsweetened oat milk, 72g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and a pinch of salt in a pot, stir to dissolve and heat gently. When the milk is steaming but not yet boiling, add the eggs and stir until the mixture turns pale yellow and slightly thick, then turn off the heat.
Whip 500ml whipping cream, add the taro puree and beat 1 to 2 minutes until combined.
Pour the custard into the taro cream and beat another 2 to 3 minutes until even.
Transfer to a chilled container, cover and freeze. Every 30 to 45 minutes, take it out and stir it through with a wooden spoon, repeating several times until fully frozen.
Tips
Keep the milk below a boil, heating it only until it steams.
Pushing the taro through a sieve is the step that decides how smooth the ice cream turns out.
Stir every 30 to 45 minutes while it freezes so no ice crystals form.
The 30ml of wine is only there to take the raw edge off the eggs, and more than that keeps the ice cream from setting and leaves a boozy smell.
Purple taro dulls quickly, so fold it into the cream right after mashing to hold the color.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.